Clouds on the Mountain
by Cellotastic
Summary: This is the story of a girl, who could laugh so loud she could cheer the whole world. While she looks so glad in photographs, he absolutely loves her; when she smiles. Tree of Tranquility.
1. New Beginnings

**Author's Note**

Clouds on the Mountain.

Weird story title, right? Not really. Y'see, I was in the desert recently, and I was sitting on a tube, floating down a river…

And you'll have to wait for the rest of the story. Don't be mad, I'm smiling as I type this. This is my second shot at Harvest Moon, so don't bash me right away. Just… YEAH. Read and review?

Try to leave a review, huh?

* * *

They're gonna clean up your looks,

With all the lies in the books,

To make a citizen out of you.

Because they sleep with a gun,

And keep an eye on you son,

So they can watch all the things you do.

Because the drugs never work,

They're gonna give you a smirk,

Cause they got methods of keepin' you clean.

They're gonna rip up your heads,

Your aspirations to shreds,

Another cog in the murder machine.

Teenagers by My Chemical Romance

* * *

It was a Friday, at the start of spring. My best friend Meg was helping me load the last chair in my dining room set into the bed of my truck. I knotted the last bit of twine twice, just so it wouldn't fall loose.

"Are you sure that it's cleared for me to go, Meg?" I asked nervously, picking at one of the ragged ends of my hair. My gay boyfriend (we'd been friends since before he told me, and we like to joke that he's been my longest relationship to date) convinced me to get it cut, model style, which included a quick little razor job to layer it up.

Meg knocked my hand away from my hair, in only the way a best friend can without getting yelled at. "Yes, I already told you. I talked to Hamilton, he's the mayor, everything is _fine_. He even arranged for a house to be built!"

"B-b-but-"

"I told you, they're giving you the house so you can help with the economy." Meg said as she looked over the knot, undid it, and retied it. She glanced back at me, and then did a double take when she spotted my apprehensive expression. "Yes, you have to work! We already went over this."

"But why do you have to move away?!" I nearly wailed, tears coming to my eyes.

"Because I just have to…" Meg got that far off look in her eyes, and I stopped my act. I knew it wouldn't do any at that point. She shook her head, and looked at me, like she was really seeing me. "Look," she said, taking my shoulders, " I can't baby you forever. Just…" Meg sighed and shook her head. For a moment, she dug into her bag, and pulled out a small bag, like a cosmetics bag. "There's directions in there, a bit of money, and some other things you might need."

I took the bag, and nodded at her. "I'll see you later, then?" Tears were coming back to my eyes.

"Yeah. Who knows, maybe I'll come visit. Y'never know."

We made our goodbyes, I got into my old pickup truck, and drove away. After I had gotten far enough away from where the two of us had been, I stopped, and opened the bag. I pulled the directions out, and read through them quickly.

The trip to the harbor didn't take long at all. I wasn't even paying attention most of the time. When I reached the harbor, I pulled up to the dock where the ship was moored, and got out.

There was an older man standing on the dock, dressed in blue seafaring uniform. I glanced down at the sheet of paper, and held my hand to my hat, saving it from the sea wind. The man waved at me, smiling brightly. Not like I could really see though, since the glare off the sea was blinding.

"Hello there lass! Are you taking the ferry today? I've gotta say, today's the best lookin' day to sail into Waffle Island I've seen in a long time."

The captain of the vessel had a very kind look about him, like a man who spends most of his time outside, and loves every second of it. His outfit was a bit more impressive up close, and I felt bad for criticizing his uniform. He looked far warmer than I felt.

Gingerly, I climbed out of the truck, trying to hold on to the directions, my hat, and my keys all at once. I smiled broadly at the man, my eyes squinted against the bright springtime sun. The breeze slowed down for a moment, and I took the opportunity to run up to the man, my hand extended. He smiled and shook my hand vigorously.

"I'm August. I'm taking the ferry today," I said, trying to juggle all of my things. The old captain laughed heartily at me.

"The name's Pascal. I'm the captain of the only ferry out to the island. Give me a moment and I'll lower the ramp for your truck." Pascal smiled and started walking back to the ship. I smiled as he went, and turned back to my truck. Maybe Meg was right. This could be good for me.

You see, Meg's a few years older than me. Our mothers were the best of friends, and we grew up like sisters. When mom died from breast cancer, I was a wreck. I started failing my classes, I stopped drawing, I even stopped going to my equestrian classes. Meg was a Senior then, and I was a Freshman. Her mom told her about what had happened to Julia, my mom, a week after it happened.

The next day, she came running into my Ceramics class, nearly bawling. I saw her come in, and look around for me. As soon as she spotted me, she ran over to me, tore me away from my vase, and dragged me out of the room. Once we were in the hallway, she shook me and demanded why I hadn't told her. I'd said that the only reason we were friends was because of our moms, and mine was gone, so there was no reason to be friends after that. Meg just looked at me, and I'll never forget what she said next.

"_If you honestly thought that, why would I have come to find you? Not just because I'm sad, but because I know you need me far more than I need you right now."_

After I graduated from high school, she let me stay with her. After awhile, I was okay. Meg's mom stood in for mine, and instead of just losing my mom, I gained another.

After I jammed the key into the ignition and Pascal lowered the ramp for me, I drove my car up onto the ferry. We quickly tied the truck down to the boat, and we were off. As I lounged on the hood of my truck, letting my hair blow around in the breeze while I stopped my hat from flying off and my sundress from exposing my frilly things, Pascal asked me a few questions about myself.

"So, your name's August? Short for Augusta?" I get asked this question all the time. It doesn't bother me anymore, not really.

"No, just August. Not short for Augusta. Just August," I said as I inspected my sundress. It was a pale cream color that made my rather fair skin look a little darker, and flattered both my honey blond hair and my bright hazel eyes. The lace was all a-flutter in the breeze.

"Alright then. When were you born?"

I looked at him, a tad puzzled. Not the usual wording, but alright. "The 8th of the summer."

"What kind of gifts do you like?"

I started at that question. I mean, the old guy seemed cool but… "Er… I guess I like food? Like, fish, vegetables, fruits, raw ingredients. I like to cook, you know."

"Alright then!" Pascal clapped his hands and slid what looked like a notepad into his back pocket. I had the sinking feeling he had been writing down what I'd been saying.

"Well Augusta-"

"AUGUST!" I shouted at him suddenly, snapping upright. Pascal looked rather startled at my reaction, and I made a quick point of smoothing my ruffled feathers. "I'm not a fan of being called the wrong name."

Pascal nodded, appeased by my answer. I reclined onto the windshield of my truck, and tipped the brim of my hat over my eyes and enjoyed the weather. It was quite nice, actually, except for that odd breeze. I furrowed my brow as I tried to identify what I didn't like about it. It seemed far cooler than the previous breeze…

I opened my eyes and looked out over the water. Far off, but getting closer with each moment, was a mass of white-capped waves, roiling about, and dark skies with purple-black clouds.

I got up quickly, and as I checked the tie-downs on my truck, triple knotting the firm ties, I shut all of my windows. As soon as I had finished, I ran along the port side of the deck to the ladder that led to the upper deck. From years of experience climbing trees, I clambered up quickly.

"Pascal! Pascal, we have a problem!" I shouted as I ran toward the driving room….er, place. I don't know what it's called!

As I ran, a wave crashed into the port side of the hull, rocking the boat back with violent force that threw me into the wall of the cabin. I scrambled to my feet as quickly as I could, with salt water already speckled across the upper deck. When I had the chance, I glanced at my truck, and was relieved to see the tarp on the things I'd put in the bed was still tied down tight and dry.

"Pascal!" I said as I opened the door to the bridge (yes, I finally remembered) and staggered in. Pascal was already at the helm, struggling to keep the boat under control. He looked like he was concentrating completely on the storm, and I quietly slunk back to sit down on one of the chairs that wasn't occupied. I was gripping at the seat, my nails nearly tearing holes in the seat itself.

One of the crew members was doubled over. At first I thought he was sick, but he was actually praying. With a gulp, I turned to look out the window. I really wish I hadn't.

Angry clouds, flashing lightning, roaring thunder and pounding waves was what I saw, heard and felt. I concentrated on keeping the Chicken Ramen I'd eaten for lunch down, and tried to stay firmly attached to my seat.

It seemed to go on for a lifetime, and I was terrified all throughout it.

Suddenly, I heard Pascal sigh heavily, and the boat right itself.

"Thank the goddess, we've gotten through!" Pascal exclaimed, and as I opened my eyes, I saw him take off his hat and smack it against his thigh. He was whooping with laughter, and ran over to me, and pulled me right out of my seat. I couldn't help but laugh as he led me into a lively little jig. A couple of the sailors took turns dancing with me as Pascal guided us to the harbor.

We spent the remaining twenty minutes of the trip with all the windows and doors to the bridge thrown open, and a few of the boys played a few songs on their harmonicas and guitar. When we landed, I was sitting on the top deck, swinging my legs and twirling my sandals. Pascal laid a hand on my head to let me know that we'd landed, and I took my time getting down to my truck. Pascal had told me that there weren't any roads big enough for my truck in town, so he would arrange for someone to take it to a safe location.

As I disembarked, I thanked him and the boys a lively time. They waved goodbye, and I stepped daintily from the vessel, carrying my backpack full of my short term necessities.

I started to worry about where I would go from there, but I didn't get far before I was intercepted by a strange looking man. He was dressing in a powder blue ensemble, and was quite short and round. He too, had white hair, but his looked almost powdered, as did his skin.

"Welcome to Waffle Island! My name is Hamilton, and I'm the mayor. You must be August. Your friend Meg told me you were coming. Well, come along! We don't have a lot of time… Well, actually, _you _do. I don't." The strange little man named Hamilton started walking…er, maybe even _waddling_ off. I took a moment to enjoy the comedic genius of his being, and started following him. He took me straight to a large, friendly looking building called the Sundae Inn. Once inside, he introduced me to the owner of the Inn Jake, his wife, Coleen, and their chef, Yolanda.

It was already rather late, and I bode them all a fond goodnight. I was tired, and quite frankly, wasn't up to the task of cozying up to the locals.

As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out.

I had a strange dream that night. I dreamt of a beautiful woman, with long, flowing blue hair, wings, and a sense of distress about her. It seemed she was asked something of me, but I couldn't for the life of me determine what it was.

I awoke suddenly to chirping birds and buttery sunshine. God, that place was such a postcard waiting to happen. With a grunt, I pulled myself out of bed, and pulled my sundress/stand-in nightie over my head, and grabbed my change of clothes out of my bag. Today's outfit would be my new work boots, a pair of leggings, a cotton skirt, my favorite button up blouse and a lightweight cowboy hat. Don't knock it, those things are a godsend in the desert.

When I got downstairs for breakfast, Jake asked me how I slept. I was compelled to tell them about my bizarre dream, and they all started. Jake asked what the woman looked like, and I said she was beautiful. Jake then suggested I had dreamt about Coleen, and they all had a nice laugh about it. Hahahaha. No.

I spent the day learning ironing out the details of my housing with Hamilton, signing paperwork and helping file it all away. I chose a nice plot, on a hill next to a river that overlooked the entire district. When Hamilton finally said that we were done, I was exhausted. He made his way to his own home, and advised I make my way back to the Inn.

I ignored his suggestion and hung around the Town Hall for a bit, and after finding out about the upstairs library, scampered up to take a look at what they had. It was all nonsense, except for a few local legends I came across. I contented myself by reading about the Harvest Goddess, the Harvest King, and even these quaint little creatures called Harvest Sprites. I didn't get very far into it before I was interrupted.

"The Town Hall's closing, miss. I'm going to have to ask you to leave," he said in a rather bored voice. As I placed the book back onto the shelf and turned to look at the boy, I saw his eyes travel from the words on the binding up my arm to my face. He blushed, and said, "Y'know, I have to get home. You can't stay here all night."

I smiled and nodded at him as I walked past him and down the stairs. "Of course. I'd hate to keep you waiting."

As I walked back to the Sundae Inn, I felt oddly proud of myself.

"Oh well," I said aloud to myself. "Maybe I can convince Yolanda to whip up a bit of cake!" I clapped my hands excitedly, and took off running.


	2. Acclimating

**Author's Note**

So, what'd you think of the first chapter? Did you remember to leave a lovely little review after you read, I like asked? If you did, that's okay. You can leave one this time!

…

Seriously, leave a review. I love hearing from people who read my work, regardless of whether they like it or not. I like progress reports and such.

If you're wondering why there aren't lyrics this time around, it's because I didn't have enough time.

I'm on a plane!

* * *

Our Song by Taylor Swift

* * *

I spent the morning de-weeding the fields of Souffle Farm, and watering Craig's damnable strawberry plants. I had to hoe the fields, plant their crops, and honestly, I wanted to slap someone.

"That was okay, I guess," Craig commented nonchalantly as I panted up to him, watering can in hand. "I guess I should pay you, since you didn't ruin my farm. Plus, Hamilton said I had to."

I grimaced as Craig handed me the few hundred gold I'd earned. I was so glad they'd finished my new house, and I could finally move in. I'd had enough of Craig to last me a good long while.

As I wandered toward the direction of my new house, I came across a mine, and something that looked a lot like a smithy. I made a mental note to myself to check it out later, and kept walking, when a loud noise kind of, well, startled me.

"Hey there!"

I jumped and emitted a bit of a squeak from my mouth. There was a loud booming laugh, and I turned to see a muscular guy with messy red hair walking towards me. He had a good-natured smile on his face.

"You must be the new kid. The name's Owen," Owen said as he stuck his rather large hand out. Smiling shyly, I shook it.

"I'm August."

"Good to meet you, August," Owen said, releasing my hand and shifting his hammer, which I hadn't noticed until then, up onto his shoulder. "You're trying to make your way to the Caramel River District, right?"

I started, and nodded. "Yeah. My house is just around the bend up here…"

Owen shook his head a bit sadly. "The path's blocked. You're gonna have to go around the other way."

"Blocked? Wait, other way? What other way is there?" I pulled off my rucksack and started rummaging through it, trying to find the map Hamilton had given me. It took a minute, but I managed to get it unfolded. The map itself was far bigger than I could handle, and I really couldn't keep it under control.

With a laugh, Owen took the map from me, set it out straight. "You see how just past the fork in the road here," he said as he pointed at the fork near the shipping bin in the Maple Lake District, then traced up the left fork and then to the left again, where the mark for the path had all but worn off the map. "Look's like this is a pretty old map. Bring it by the Smithy sometime, and I'll touch it up for you." He smiled at me, and folded the map up quickly. I took it from him, feeling a lot more comfortable around this hulking giant of a guy.

"Thanks…Owen," I said as I continued down the path, towards the blocked path. Owen opened his mouth to protest, but I said, "I still haven't introduced myself to the Carpenter, you know." He stopped, smiled impishly, and shook his head. As he turned away from me, he waved at me from over his shoulder. I waved back meekly.

As I continued down the path, I thought of my first course of action. I didn't quite know whether to try farming or ranching first. My father once told me that crops only needed water, sunlight and good soil to be profitable. Animals required constant maintenance, feeding, brushing, exercising, and attention.

If it weren't already obvious, I decided to try farming first.

I wandered past the carpenter's business, and toward the woods by the river. I nearly walked right into them before I realized that there were two people there already.

One was wearing a bandana, and chopping away at a tree stump. The other was leaning against the fence by the shipping bin.

They were chatting idly, and I suddenly felt rather shy.

"Luke, I think we can call it a day. We already have more lumber than Dale told us to get," the resting boy said, running a hand through his tousled blonde hair. The boy in the bandana only grunted, and swung his axe once more, splitting the stump cleanly in two.

"There," Luke panted, "now we have even more. You need to stop worrying Bo. He's not going to care if we bring back too much." He pulled out a bit of twine, and tied the newly cut lumber together. "Come on," he grunted as he picked up the bundle, "It's starting to get dark."

I glanced over my shoulder, and was surprised to see the sun almost below the horizon. I jumped up from my hiding place, and started running towards where Hamilton said my house would be. I tried to ignore the guys, and kept running. I was terrified of the dark, and didn't want to get caught outside after the sun went down.

"Aw, crap."

A giant tree root blocked my path, just like Owen had said. In my haste, I'd completely forgotten. I tried to find a way around the root, but it was far too large. There was a gap, maybe seven feet up. Too bad I was only five feet and an inch tall, or I'd have tried to get to the gap. As it was, I tried hopping up to get at it.

"Hey there, be careful! You might hurt yourself!" The boy named Luke came running up just as I managed to get hold of a branch, and start pulling myself up the root.

"I'm fine!" I called in between my grunting as I tried to scramble up the impossibly large root. "Just…trying-_uh_-to get-_uh_-home!"

"Wait, so _you're_ the farmer?" Bo said, a tad surprised. I scowled while I was working.

"_Yes_, I am!" I said as I pulled myself further up. I was very nearly to the top now. "Just a little further…" I let go of the branch with one hand, and tried to grab at another branch that would put me right over the root. Unfortunately, I came just a little short. As my hand closed around a fistful of leaves, I started slipping backwards.

It's kind of embarrassing, but a dulcet scream blasted it's way through my lips, and I'm sure Hamilton would have heard it back in town.

"**Heeeeeelp meeeee!**" I shouted as I fell. I was just barely aware of Bo and Luke scrambling and trying to figure out what to do.

"Out of the way!"

I landed abruptly, a little sooner than the ground.

"August, are you okay?" A familiar and friendly voice filled with concern came from a little above me. I opened my eyes, and blinked a few times. Owen laughed, and looked at me expectantly.

"Oh!" I blushed. "Yeah, I'm okay, thanks." It felt like I'd inadvertently stuck my face too close to a bonfire. Owen set me down, still laughing at me. I stood up straight, started brushing myself off when a dagger of pain cut into my left ankle, and I fell to my knee. "Oww! Oww oww!" I squeezed my eyes shut and grimaced.

I couldn't see Owen's face, but from the tone of his voice, I knew he wasn't smiling anymore. "Come on, I'll take you to Jin's. It's just a little out of the way from your place." I relaxed a little, knowing I'd get help soon. It was probably just a turned ankle anyway. I looked at Owen, trying to make my expression as level as I could.

Owen had already bent down, and was sliding his arms around my back and under my knees. I wasn't uncomfortable with being picked up like that, just because I got hurt a lot as a kid, so I was used to being picked up. However, that was when I was younger. Like when I was ten. Ten and twenty is a bit different. Being picked up like that when you're twenty is a bit different. I could feel the heat from Owen's arm through my shirt, and his muscles moving against my side as he picked me up effortlessly.

He was surprisingly gentle though. Owen was careful not to jostle my leg, and thereby my ankle as he turned back to Luke and Bo.

"Hey, Owen, be careful," Luke said seriously. "I don't know why they haven't chopped that damn thing down. If it weren't there, she wouldn't have tried to get over it."

"Luke, we've already been over this. You can't cut it down." Owen's voice was quiet, and deadly serious.

"But-"

"Luke, just drop it. I'm just going to take August to Jin. He'll fix her up. This has never happened before and you know it, so don't try and take it out of context." Owen then turned away, and started walking quickly, almost too quickly for comfort. I would've said something, but he seemed angry, so I just grit my teeth as my ankle occasionally bounced about.

Owen stumbled suddenly, and I couldn't help but inhale sharply. I immediately covered my face in my hands, just as he stopped.

"Are…are you okay?"

"Y-yeah. I'm fine."

"…I'm sorry. I'll slow down a bit." Owen started walking again, but a bit slower than before, and he carefully supported my leg. He didn't speak for awhile, but when he did, it was quiet. "Look, I'm sorry, I really am. It's just, Hamilton told Luke, cutting that root could upset the Harvest Goddess. No one on the islands wants to do that."

He walked in silence for a moment. As we walked, I saw a huge shape loom over the horizon off the left, beyond a path to our left.

"That's the path I suggested you take. I'll help you home after this, promise."

"What's that shape over there?" I tried to point, but I stopped since it feel to awkward.

I felt Owen move as he looked. "That's the new Mother Tree. It's been there for a long time, but the one before it died, and a new one had to be planted."

I furrowed my brow. "But it's really important, right? Why did it die in the first place? Where did the new seedling come from?"

Owen laughed. "You're pretty observant. You weren't here a week before you figured that out." He paused, the I heard him sigh quietly. "People stopped caring about the Mother Tree and the Harvest Goddess. People stopped caring about the island. So the Mother Tree died." He sounded really sad as he said this. I had to scowl. I'd just met him and had done nothing to make him happy, but a lot to make him a little sad.

"Well…uh… We can stop him from cutting it down! I won't let him!" I said, nodding my head vigorously. "It's my property, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is!" Owen said brightly, and laughed. He turned up a little hill, and stopped in front of a house. "Well, here we are. I need to knock, so I need to drop an arm. Can you hang on to my neck for a moment?" he asked the question a little awkwardly, like he didn't want to make me uncomfortable. I thought that was kind cute.

I reached up, trying the stretch my arms up around his neck. Once I did, I hooked my arms together, and hoisted myself further up. Strangely enough, that put my face level with Owen's.

He didn't seem to notice as he knocked on the door, but I suddenly realized how gorgeous he was. That, and he smelled really, really good. I could smell whatever it was that he was wearing, and it smelled amazing. After he put his hand on my back to support me, I started to let go.

And then, as I looked over his shoulder, I saw how dark it was. I couldn't even see across the street.

I panicked, and tightened my arms around his neck, and burrowed my face into his shoulder. If anything was out there, I couldn't see it, and out here in the boonies, who _knew_ what could be out there?! I could feel myself start to hyperventilate.

"August?! What's up?"

"Get me inside, inside, I have to get inside!" All of a sudden, I couldn't really control myself. I started thrashing, and trying to get my way out of Owen's arms and into the house in front of me.

"August, crap, settle down!" The door opened, and there was light! Glorious, wonderful light, everywhere! But there was a large black figure in the doorway, blocking out some of the light. I started screaming, now trying to get away from the door. "Doc, I don't know what's wrong, she just freaking out!

"Get her inside, quickly, she's having a panic attack. Put her down on the spare bed, _quickly,_ Owen."

The figure stepped out of the doorway, and Owen stepped inside, maneuvering me carefully through the opening. As soon as I was inside, I felt my muscles relax, except for those in my arms, that held me close to Owen. I could feel his hands trying to pull my arms apart, but I couldn't get those muscles to move.

Owen was bent over, trying to pull my arms from around his neck when the figure came over. Up close, he wasn't nearly as scary. He was wearing glasses, and Chinese styled apparel. His long hair was down, but I recalled seeing it up during the day when I'd been running an errand into town for Craig.

"Y-you're Jin, right?" I asked, my arms loosening marginally. Owen then gently pull my arms from around his neck, and sat on the floor next to the bed, his back to me but just beside me.

"Yes, that's my name. You must be August." Jin spoke analytically, and picked up something from a table nearby. "Drink this, it should calm you down a bit." I took it, and was surprised to find it was hot cocoa, my favorite drink. Without saying anything, I started to drink it, sitting Indian-style on a bed in a complete stranger's house. I was, of course, careful not to move my ankle.

"Owen, what happened?"

The calming effects of the cocoa started to kick in then, and I reclined my head against the wall as Owen recounted the days' events. He started with me trying to climb over the root, falling off the root, falling onto him, and then falling on the ground. Jin asked a few questions, like which leg I'd been favoring and how I fell. When Owen mentioned that I started to freak out, Jin asked if he knew what could have triggered it. Owen replied with something along the lines of thinking I was afraid of something. Jin nodded, and looked out the curtains, and asked what time it had been when I tried to climb over the root. Around six was Owen's answer.

"She's afraid of the dark," Jin concluded, as professional as one can sound while saying that. He looked at me, half asleep and completely docile. I was pretty sure Jin had slipped something into the cocoa, because I felt completely comatose.

Jin unzipped my left boot, and pulled it off so carefully and gently that I didn't feel a thing. I felt his hand delicately test out the joints and bones in my ankle. He rotated it a bit, and when I suddenly flinched, he set it down.

"A slight sprain, but nothing a day or two of rest won't cure." Jin said as he pulled down the black thigh high stocking on my left leg. After getting a roll of bandages, Jin laid a hand on my calf. "Are you going to be alright with that, August?"

I barely heard what Jin said, I was so out of it. I opened my mouth to speak, but I couldn't get the words out. So, I settled for an alternative.

"'M sleepy…"

Jin laughed, and started wrapping up my ankle. I recognized the way he was wrapping it from when I was a kid. Sports injuries, you know.

"Owen, could you do little miss August a favor?" Jin asked quietly, a kind lilt to his voice.

Owen stood, and as he did, grunted a bit. "Let me guess, take her home, check on her tomorrow and bring her back here?" He was smiling as he said it, so I took that as a good thing. Jin smiled and nodded.

"Exactly. I can call down to Hanna and Cain, and see if I can arrange for you to borrow one of their extra horses, just so you don't have to carry and she doesn't have to walk."

"That's great Doc, really. Thanks," Owen said as he turned from Jin to face me. I rubbed my face and yawned, while he chuckled at me. When I opened my eyes, I held my arms out to him sleepily. He picked me up carefully, and Jin set my boot and stocking in my lap.

Jin and Owen spent a few more minutes talking, but I don't remember what it was about. I'd already nuzzled into Owen's chest and fell asleep.

On the way home I slept, but Owen had to wake me up so I could open the door. I pulled the key from out of my shirt, where it hung on a silver chain. Owen followed me inside as I hobbled over to sink and poured myself a glass of water.

"D'you want anything?" I mumbled, just before a took a long swig from my glass.

"No, I need to get home. It's really late." Even as he said that, he pulled out one of my chairs, turned it around and sat on it backwards. "I'll be back tomorrow, around eight, alright? I have to let Ramsey know I'll be late, and get down to the ranch."

I made my way to the table, and pushed myself up onto it with my good leg. As I thought of water to say, I traced the lip of my glass with my index finger. "Y'know, I really appreciate that you're helping me. I wish you didn't have to though."

"I wish I didn't have to either." Before I could say anything, he continued, "Because if I weren't, you would be alright." I looked at him and saw his big goofy grin. I had to laugh. And I did. There was a moment where we were both quiet, and he asked me, "Do you need anymore help?"

"I have a feeling I can cover the rest by myself," I said as kindly as I could. Truthfully, I did _**not**_ want him riffling through my things to find my pajamas. My undergarments were girly to the point of embarrassment.

"Alright then," Owen said as he stood up and set the chair right. He came over and helped me off the table, just like a gentleman. "I will see you tomorrow, eight o'clock. Don't be late," he said with a wink as he walked out the door, locking it behind him.

I sighed, and limped to my bag, and changed into my pajamas.

I hadn't even started farming yet, and I was rather apprehensive to find out just how much worse it could get.


	3. I hate rain

**Author's Note**

I hope you guys liked the last chapter. Sorry if it was a bit too much, but I just see Owen as being a really nice guy, you know?

I figure now's a good time to let y'all know about the reason I wrote this story. Starlit Masquerade and I decided to do something called a letter game. It's where you write letters back and forth, like you're actually the people writing the letters. It's a really good literary exercise.

Anyway, if you're interested, just keep your eyes out for it on the story boards, and I'm sure you'll see it.

-

I wake up every evening, with a big smile on my face,

And it never feels out of place.

And you're still probably workin', at a nine-to-five pace.

I wonder how bad that tastes.

When you see my face, hope it gives you hell.

When you walk my way hope it gives you hell.

Now where's your picket fence love, now where's that shiny car,

And did it ever get you far?

Gives you Hell by the All American Rejects

-

I woke up the next morning feeling much better. It was far earlier than I usually liked to be up, but Meg had advised I wake up early. Mindful of my ankle, I got out of bed, and shuffled my way into the kitchen. I didn't have much in the way of food, except for what Ruth and Craig had given me and a bit of stuff I'd found while walking around. Thankfully, I had a few potatoes at my disposal, and a very berry, so I made potato stew and berry juice for breakfast. Once again, I thanked Meg for advising I bring my own furniture.

While breakfast was cooling down a bit, I opened the windows around the house to let a bit of air flow through. I decided to eat outside though, and hobbled my way out to my front porch. The stew was pretty good, and the juice was much tastier than the stuff I'd once bought at a convenience store. There was a nice, balmy breeze coming from the coast, and I caught traces of salt mixed in with the heady scent of newly opened flowers.

After I finished breakfast I went back inside and changed out of my pajamas. While standing in the middle of my house in nothing but a wrap bra and a pair of shorts (I wear short styled underwear. Shut up, it's comfier than panties, though I do love panties), I decided to unpack all of my clothes. It took all of about fifteen minutes, and it gave me the chance to look through my wardrobe.

While I was brushing my hair, I went through my options, clucking about like an old hen. I pulled out another button-up shirt, a nice blue shirt, short sleeves and rather western-chic. I spent the next few minutes looking through my wardrobe for bottoms. That was the hard part. I settled on a pair of denim shorts, and threaded a dark brown scarf through the loops to serve as a belt. Once again, I opted for my little zip-up brown boots, and a pair of worn leather gloves stuffed into the back pocket of my shorts. I though about wearing my cowboy hat again, and decided against it. Instead, I got my elastic headband with the cute little bow on it, and put it on.

One look in the mirror made me rip it off and grumpily jam the hat onto my head.

Just as I was finishing up, I heard a knock on my door.

I adjust my collar a bit, popping it up and unbuttoning it a few. Not too much, but just enough. I opened the door, and smiled brightly when I saw Owen there.

"Morning neighbor," I said as I carefully maneuvered the door shut and faced him.

"Good morning. Ready to go?" Owen said as he turned to steady the mare behind him. Her fur was a lovely chocolate color, and her mane and tail were a pretty caramel color. I nodded, and Owen helped me up into the saddle, and got on after me. He moved his arms to lay against my sides, and I figured it was just to keep me from falling off the saddle, since I had nothing to hang onto.

We went slowly, which I appreciated. It didn't take long to get to Jin's, but as we passed it, I found out we were going to the clinic instead of his house. Owen assured me that it was alright, and we could get lunch at the Inn. That sounded nice to me, so I went along with it.

It took a bit longer at Jin's than I expected. He asked me about past injuries, and possible health risks I might have. Since he already knew about my susceptibility to panic attacks, he suggested a few ways to monitor than, and slipped me a non-battery operated flashlight with a smile. We tested out my ankle, and talked about therapy I could do at home to help, and a bit about the horse Hanna and Cain, the owners of Brownie Ranch, were loaning me until my ankle was better.

As I went to leave, Irene, the other doctor at the clinic, told me that there had been a problem in the mine, and Owen had been called into work. I thanked her and walked outside, and went up to the mare. Her ears perked up at me when I approached, and she whickered quietly at me. I held my hand out to her, which had a piece of the sucker Jin had jokingly given me. She ate it happily and nuzzled at my hand.

"No more…" I tried to remember what her name was, but I was pretty sure I'd never heard it. I looked on her saddlery and found the name "Mina" on it. "No more Mina."

I couldn't get on the horse by myself, and I looked around, hoping there was someone that could help me. I didn't see anyone, so I decided to try and get up on my own. That didn't really end well, as I only got the top half of my body onto the horse and the other half just sort of dangling off.

"Whoa there, whoa girl!" A female voice called out, and I felt a hand push my good foot up over the saddle and pulled my left side upright. A vibrant fellow blonde was standing next to me, reins in hand. She was dressed similarly to me. By that, I mean both of our ensembles had western influences.

"Love the choker. So cute!" I said as turned to face her.

"Thanks, I got it from the mainland. I'm Kathy. Hayden's my dad."

"I'm August, and I have no idea who Hayden is."

We chatted for a bit while I made my way to the Inn. I'd brought a bit of money with me, and I thought it would be nice to try a bit of local cuisine. Kathy and I parted ways in front of the Inn, and hooked Mina up to the fence in front of the building. I didn't loop the reins around a post, since that actually doesn't work. In reality, a horse could simply rip the post out of the ground. So no, I didn't put Mina on a post.

As I hobbled in, Jake spotted me, and came straight over.

"Are you alright August?! What happened to you?" Jake linked an arm underneath my left arm, and I had to smile. He acted just like my Uncle.

"I'm fine, I just fell and sprained my ankle. Jin's got me covered." Jake helped me over to one of the couches to the left of the entrance. "So, what's for lunch?"

Jake laughed, and started ticking items off on his fingers. "There's vegetable sandwiches, shark fin stew, marinated mushrooms, tomato risotto, omelet rice and fish meuniere. Of course, there's dessert too, but I personally would rather you eat some actual food first."

I laughed at him. "Just like my uncle."

"What?"

"Nothing." I looked off into the corner of the room and thought of the options Jake had given me. "Tomato Risotto, please," I said with a smile. Jake took my order to the kitchen, and came back with a glass of very berry juice. I thanked him, and reclined on the couch as I sipped at the drink. They had opened the window, and I was enjoying the sensation of the sun on my legs when I heard someone approach, along with the clinking of a plate against a tray.

I opened one eye lazily, and found myself locked eye-to-eye with a blonde boy with striking purple eyes. Hurriedly, I opened the other one and blinked, trying to conceal my shock.

"Here's your risotto, miss," he said in a rather flirty tone. He set in carefully on the little table in front of me, and reclined on the armrest by my feet. "You must be-"

"The new girl," I finished, nodding understandingly. "Yes, my name's August."

"Chase." The boy smiled and shifted on the armrest a bit. "I work here."

"I noticed."

Chase flustered a bit, trying to grab for words. "I meant, I work as a chef and a waiter here. Yolanda's out sick today, so I made the risotto."

I had to smile. He was trying so hard to seem cool. I leaned over to the bowl of risotto, and tried a bit of it. The tang of the tomato was well balanced with the spiciness of the onion, while the rice gave it a good texture and substance. Hey, I didn't take culinary classes in college for nothing. I know how to cook! "Not bad, Chase. Where did you get these tomatoes? They're a little tangier than what I've sampled before."

Chase smiled satisfactorily. "We grow them here. Well, Yolanda gets them from Craig and Ruth, and they intersperse the tomatoes and onions."

"Well, I don't think that would affect the flavor any. Did you stew the tomatoes and onions together in the sauce?" I tried another spoonful, just of the sauce this time, and still tasted the onion.

"Yes, I did. It's not what the recipe calls for, but everyone around here likes it better this way," Chase said a little defensively.

I held up a hand, palm out, as I swallowed another scoop. "I'm not saying it's bad Chase! It's delicious."

Chase smiled, and wiped her hands on his apron as he stood up. "I should probably get back to the kitchen. It was nice meeting you though."

"Likewise," I said as I started to eat my lunch. It really was good, but I always enjoyed messing with young chefs, like myself. It was just fun to challenge them on their culinary skills when to them, they had no idea that it was coming. A bit mean of me, I suppose, but I loved it nonetheless.

For the next half an hour I sat there, quietly eating my soup and nursing my juice. Kathy came in after awhile, and she invited me back to have a drink or two that evening. It sounded like a good time, so I agreed. When I stood to leave, Chase came over to help me out, since Jake and Coleen were…preoccupied, I suppose.

"So, I hear you're coming back for the party later?" Chase said nonchalantly as he opened the door and helped get me outside.

"I hadn't known it would be a party, but yeah, I'm coming," I replied as I carefully climbed into the saddle, petting Mina right along the side of her mane.

"I'll see you there then," he said as he went back inside.

Flirty little codger. As I rode out of town, I thought idly of how I was going to start farming. Too bad that would have to wait for a bit. Until my ankle healed, I wouldn't be doing much of anything. At least, nothing physical. I started riding up to Praline Forest, to see if I could find something to ship so I could make a little money.

As I went, I thought of things I could do in the meantime. I could do social things, like go to parties, and hang out with my new friends, but I couldn't do much else. I grumbled. This stunk.

When I got to Praline Forest, I rummaged around for herbs and such, and a few berries, and tossed them into the shipping bin. It wasn't a particularly good haul, and I had a feeling I wouldn't have much more money in my pocket come tomorrow.

I got back on Mina, and headed back to my house, avoiding the root. I could still see boot prints on it from where I'd tried to scale it. Idly, I looked up at the sky, and noticed the sun was starting to get low on the horizon. I figured Jin would be back at his house soon, so I changed course and headed to his place.

When I got there, I just left Mina in the front yard, and limped up to the door. I knocked a few times, and found the door open. I opened the door a bit, and stopped when I heard murmuring inside, and a gasp. I'm no peeping Tom. I shut the door soundlessly, and went back to Mina. I would just have to go see Jin tomorrow, at the clinic. That was fine with me. I just wanted to know when I'd be able to get to work.

I started to go home, but then I stopped. I didn't know where I was supposed to put Mina for the night. I remembered Jake telling Coleen it was supposed to rain tomorrow, and I didn't want Mina out in the rain all night. Then, I remembered the lumber shed that stood alongside my house. That would have to do for now, I thought.

When I got home, I used a few old boards and some of the twine from my furniture to make a temporary shed. I looked around for a bit and found some dried grass in a box next to the lumber shed. I pulled a good amount of it out, and wedged it in between two of the boards. That would have to do for the time being.

I went to sleep early, since I didn't really have anything to do. I slept well until about three A.M., when the storm came in.

The roll of the rain on the roof was enough to wake me, and then the thunder rattled the windows like a mob beating at my home. I got up and made myself a glass of tea, even though I don't really like it. I sat at my kitchen table, wrapped up in my favorite fleece blanket. I was glad I'd brought a bit of chamomile with me to the island. At about three fifteen I climbed back into bed and slept until six, when someone came knocking at my door.

Without unwrapping from the blanket, I shuffled to the door and opened it. Jin was standing there with his medical bag in hand.

"Jin. What a surprise, come in," I said blearily, rubbing my eyes with one hand while opening the door further with the other. I went into the kitchen and made pot of tea for him, and got some berry juice for myself.

While the kettle was heating up, I leaned on the kitchen countertop. "What's up, Doc?" I said, trying to be a little funny. It didn't really work, since I sounded like I was chewing cotton.

Jin was rifling through his medical bag as he responded. "I'm just doing a follow-up exam for your ankle." He pulled out a stethoscope, some more bandages, and a couple of splints. "I'm going to need you to pull of your boot and undo the bandages that are on there right now."

I pulled my boot off and undid the bandages around my foot. My ankle looked bruised, and I touched it gently with the tips of my fingers.

"Well? Does it still hurt?" Jin said as he came over to me with the bandages. He gestured for me to sit on the table, and I slid up.

"A little, but not much."

"Hmm…" Jin took my foot in his hand and started inspecting it. He pressed the stethoscope to it and tried rotating it, and testing out the joints. I figured that it must have healed considerably, since I didn't flinch, not even once. Jin set my foot down, and leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. "Well," he said as he took off his glasses and folded his hands together, "the swelling's gone down, and the bone and muscle seems to have mended rather quickly." Jin picked up the splint and bandaging he'd brought. "I'm just going to splint your ankle. You should be able to walk better after this, but as a doctor, I will recommend you stay off it as much as possible."

"So farming's out of the question?"

"Not necessarily. I'd feel better if you refrained for a few more days, but if you got help with it, you should be fine." Jin pulled my leg out straight, and laid one of the splints alongside my leg, and started wrapping the sports wrap around my leg. "It's not common practice to use a splint for a sprain, but out here, it's best to nip it in the butt quickly," he explained as he bent over to clip the metal fastener in so the wrap would hold.

I smiled, and when he was finished, pointed my toes a little and turned my ankle, showing off his handiwork. Jin just gave me a look, and handed me some painkillers in case it really started to bother me. I thanked him, and offered him lunch, to be courteous. Jin, ever the gentleman, refused, saying that Anissa had offered first. With a smile, I showed him out the door.

The rain had let up a little, so I decided to go exploring. I changed out of my pajamas into a pair of black denim shorts, and a tank top. At the last moment, I remembered my raincoat, and threw it on real quick. I'd heard that there was a hot spring nearby, and I knew that hot water helped with sports injuries, so I made my way in that direction. The thunder and lightning had died down completely, so now it was just, well, heavier than a drizzle, but by no means a downpour.

When I got to the river, I stared at the water, watching the little fish swim about. Further upstream, I found the waterfall and the basin. There were plenty of char in the pool, and I thought of trying my hand and fishing at one point or another.

I looked around the area, and found that the rock formation formed a path around the outside of the pool, and there were crude stairs that led up to a hidden area. I figured that would be where the spring was. So I started maneuvering onto the little outcropping, and walked towards the waterfall.

As I passed behind the waterfall, I discovered a cave opening in the rock wall. I tried to look inside, but it was far, far too dark, so I just scurried on past it. Once I reached the little stairs, I had to start using my hands to steady myself. It took longer than I expected to get up the little hill, but when I reached the top, I was particularly proud of myself.

I hobbled my way through the little opening and down the gravel path. The hot spring looked very nice, and I found a place to undress and leave my clothes so they wouldn't get wet. I sat on the ground and pulled of my boots, and undid the splint and bandages. I knew from similar injuries I'd had before how to redo the support. I pulled off my jacket, and yanked my tank top off from over my head. A song popped into my head then, and as I started humming the "Cha Cha Slide" I shimmied my shorts off of my hips and flicked them into the dry rocks under the tree with my pointed foot. I almost walked out into the rain in my bra and panties, and then I realized wet underwear would be a real drag. I sighed, because I didn't really want to take them off, but I'd hate myself later if I didn't.

I looked around and down into the waterfall basin to make sure no one was around. Then, and quickly as I could, I pulled my underwear off, and ran while covering myself with my arms straight into the spring. The cool rain left spots of cold on my exposed skin, while the hot water just sort of flash-burnt my submerged skin. It was a fairly odd sensation.

I pulled up my hair, and lowered myself as far into the water as far I could, and spread my short hair out on the rock behind me. After closing my eyes, I let the heat soak into my body. It felt really, really good…

A bolt of thunder woke me up, and I started, splashing warm water all over. I glanced up at the sky, and realized it was nearly dark. I scrambled out of the spring, splashing the lovely warm water all over the ground. Little icicles stung my skin as I ran through the rain to my still (thankfully) dry clothes. I went into the bag I'd brought with me, and pulled out my towel just as lightning struck a tree on the other side of the waterfall basin. I screamed, and just shoved everything on the ground into my bag, and took off running. The simultaneous clap of thunder scared the living bejeebus out of me, and I started running as fast as I dared. The gravel stung the bottom of my feet, and I kept slipping down the rocky slope to the basin. The thunder clapped and lightning struck on my side of the basin.

I suddenly remembered that there was a cave. It was nearly as dark outside as it was in the cave, and I decided to duck into it until the storm settled down a bit. The splash of the waterfall was spraying in twenty different directions from the wind, and I realized with a sinking feeling that the storm had become a typhoon. The water from the spray soaked my towel, and I stumbled into the cave, dripping, cold, and a little freaked out.

I padded into the back of cavern, my wet, bare feet slapping against the stone floor. When I got back there, I pulled my raincoat out of my bag, and spread it down on the floor in the crook of a root. My clothes came out after that, and I wrapped up with them as I spread my towel on a nearby root.

Trying to protect as much of my skin as possible with my clothes, I huddled down onto the floor, and took the flashlight out of the backpack. I flicked it on, and set it facing out to the rest of the space. The thunder and lightning were still going strong, even when I started to shiver. I tried really hard to ignore it, and just kept myself entertained by wiggling my toes inside of my hands.

When the phosphorescent glow from the water inside the cave was brighten than the light outside, and it was still storming strong, I got worried. I stood up, and left my clothes behind. I was mostly dry, except for my hair. Slowly, I moved to the front of the cave to peek outside. The air got considerably colder as I got to the entrance, and as I stuck my head outside, I started shivering again.

Realizing I wouldn't be leaving anytime soon, I wandered over to the soft glow of the little lake. The whole of the lake was shrouded in darkness, except for the soft glow of the odd little crystals that lit up the expanse. I crouched down and stuck the tip of my finger into the water, and was amazed at how warm it was. There wasn't much of a shore; the rock just sort of dropped off. I sat down on the ground, and slid into the water. I kept lowering myself, and found that I could get all the way into the water, and still not touch the bottom. I pushed off gently, and floated through the warm water. It was really relaxing, and I could watch the fish swimming around from right beside them. Once, I saw a large, amazingly stunning fish swim past. I could only assume it was the King Fish I'd heard about at On the Hook.

I swam for a little longer, until the nagging worried feeling came back. I was on the far end of the pool inspecting one of the crystal when I heard a noise at the entrance. I moved out of the globe of light the crystal produced, and hid in the dark of the cavern.

It was too dark to make out the figure's relative shape, and the rain was too loud to hear them. Lightning kept flashing, but it wasn't enough. Suddenly, the flashlight moved, and the beam swept to where I'd left my things. The beam shook a little from side to side, like the holder was looking around for something…or some_one_. I tried to get further from crystal, and the beam snapped up to center on the crystal. I froze, and couldn't decide whether to try and edge my way a little further, or to cover myself.

The beam started to sweep back and forth across the water, and into the roots. The beam moved around and slowed, and stopped. As quickly as I dared, I started to move again, using one hand to pull myself across the wall, and the other covering myself. I thought I was home free, until the beam snapped up and swept from the crystal, straight over me, back to me for just a moment, and froze there. At least, until the flashlight clattered to the floor.

"Er…sorry there August," Owen said bashfully as the beam pointed to the ground, slowly rose, and then was aimed just to the left of me. I shifted a little, and used my legs to hide what little of myself I could. "Jin said you didn't have a television, so you wouldn't know that the storm was turning into a typhoon. I went to tell you, but the door was unlocked, and you weren't there… I got some of the others to help look for you. People get swept out to sea a lot during typhoons, and once someone got pulled straight of that bridge down by the sea, and we were worried…"

I just sort of looked at where I thought Owen was, and smiled. There was a bit of a blush coming to my cheeks, but I just ignored it. "Well," I said as I started swimming back to the shore, "I'm just fine. A little cold, but the water's really warm."

"Yeah, it's because it's fed by the hot spring and the water that drips through from the Goddess Spring. The water down here's great for soaking…" The lightning flashed again, and I could see that Owen was reclining on the curve of the wall, facing away from the pool, and the flashlight was on the ground.

I swam over to the light, and faced it outward. "Could you get my towel for me, please?"

Owen nodded, and went to go get it. I saw that he was keeping his eyes as averted as best he could. He glanced at me once, just to figure out where I was, but looked away as soon as he did. Instead of handing my towel to me, he turned his back, crouched down, and held out a hand to help me out. I had to smile at that too. I took his hand, and laced my fingers with his so I wouldn't slip, and pushed down on the lip of the lake with my free hand. As soon as I was out, Owen offered me the towel, and still kept his eyes averted.

And then I had an idea.

"Don't look," I said as I padded back to my clothes, and pulled out my panties and bra. Thankfully, they were the bright, colorful ones, that looked surprisingly like swimwear. Heehee. I changed into them, and set out the towel to dry, and crept back to where Owen was. I snuck up behind him, tapped him on his left shoulder, then jumped into the pool, shouting, "Cannonbaaaaaaaall!"

The pool was deep enough for that, and when I surfaced, I had to laugh. Owen was sopping wet, and just sort of staring at me with the gaping fish expression. "Well?" I said, splashing him again. "Aren't you coming?"

Owen just sort of stared at me, and for a second, I thought he was going to be mad.

And then he started undressing. I giggled, and swam away from him, toward the lip on the far edge of the pool. I heard his boots hit the ground, first thud, then the second thud. There was a light rustling, which I suspected was his little scarf, and then a heavier rustling, which I assumed was his shirt. Then, there was a much louder, heavier sounding rustling and mini-thud.

Owen whooped rowdily as he jumped into the pool, which I turned around just in time to see. He'd taken his pants off, but thankfully he was wearing boxers that looked alarmingly like swim trunks. I laughed, and ducked under the water to check out the blue-green crystal by my feet.

Swimming was one thing I was rather good at, not surprising if you consider that I'm built like a swimmer. Petite, not curvy at all, and just sort of a spry little thing. The only problem for me are currents, since they just pluck me up and toss me around.

Owen swam up next to me, and tapped the crystal. I swatted his hand away, shaking my fingers tsk-tsk style. He started laughing, which was really funny, since we were underwater. He started going up, and I pushed off the floor of the pool as surfaced a little before him.

As he came up, he was spluttering like a fool. I laughed, and thumped him a couple of times on the back for good measure. He cleared his throat, and smiled at me.

"Thanks," Owen said, rather quietly.

I smiled (what I thought was) sweetly, and said, "Well, you're welcome."

We just sort of waded there for a moment, looking at each other. And then I splashed him. Just for fun. He splashed me back, and it turned into a game. We did that for a really long time, and suddenly I realized I was getting tired. I yawned just as Owen splashed me, and found myself with a mouthful of water. I spluttered a bit and spit it out, and Owen was laughing at me.

"It is getting late," Owen said after he stopped laughing, and started swimming back to the "shore". I followed him, just sort of gliding through the water. He got out before me, and leaned down to help me out. I gave him my hand, and started to climb up. Just as I got half up, lightning and thunder flashed and boomed at the same time.

I found myself being jerked forward, and pressed against Owen's chest. I almost said something, but then I realized that his head was ducked down past mine. I recognized that posturing from my little cousins, who were nearly terrified of everything. I giggled, and patted the back of his wet head. "Silly, it's just a storm," I murmured, using the same tactic I did with my cousins. I wrapped one arm around his shoulder blade and rested my other hand on the back of his head.

I found myself oddly comfortable around Owen, and it didn't bother me to be this close to him. That shouldn't have changed over the course of two days, but this sort of embrace lacked any kind of romance. It was just a guy, who for once was scared, and sought comfort from a girl. I was more than happy to help.

"I think it's letting up," I said softly, and he started to let me go… and I started to fall backwards into the pool. Owen pulled me back again, and I used my hand to cushion myself. He moved back so I could get my feet on the ground. I looked up into his blue eyes. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," he replied quietly. He broke eye contact with me bashfully, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, lightning sort of makes me…"

"Skittish? Frightened? Desperate?" I said, listing off how the dark made me feel. He looked up at me, his eye wide.

"You're afraid of lightning too?"

"No," I said, laughing quietly. "I'm afraid of the dark, so I can sort of relate." I started to walk back to my bag, and I heard Owen grab his stuff and follow suit. As I passed my towel, which was larger than most by far, I grabbed it, and held it out to the side, offering some of it to him. Owen chuckled and pulled the other side around his shoulders. It barely fit around both of us, which was surprising. I could fit four of my girlfriends and I into that thing, burrito style.

We ended up sitting on my raincoat together for awhile, while our "swimwear" dried. He told me stories about a lot of the people on the island, and a little about the island itself.

"Hey," I said, remembering how I never got to finish the book on the legends. "Do you know the story of the Harvest Goddess?"

"Of course I do. Everyone does." Owen looked off into space, and didn't say anything.

I cleared my throat, and added, "Could you tell it to me?" A bit of the cooler air chose then to change direction, and blow straight into the back of the cave. I shivered, and Owen chuckled, and tugged on my corner of the towel, moving me closer to him.

"Yeah," he said, and cleared his throat. "Well, you know about how the Mother Tree died, right?" I nodded. "Well, when the tree died, the Harvest Goddess couldn't reach the island anymore, and things went downhill. The typhoons and snowstorms we got every once in awhile became a lot more frequent, and a lot worse. The rainbows disappeared."

"Rainbows? I haven't seen any rainbows…" I murmured, a little disappointed.

Owen laughed. "They're only in certain places. Anyway ,those rainbows help keep the island stable, and the Harvest Sprites that watched over the rainbows fell asleep. They couldn't help the goddess, and the goddess just left…" He paused. "And then, a long time ago, when Ramsey, and Shelley were young, and I mean younger than _us _this guy came to the island. He found about the legend, and pieced things together. He figured out how to wake up the sprites, how to bring the rainbows back, he even found the seedling of hope. He saved the island, and he was a hero. The next day, they went to give him a gift from the entire island, an updated version of the legend, but when they got to his house, they found the house empty. He'd sailed off in the middle of the night without telling anyone…"

We sat in silence for a moment. "He sounds…like a very proud man." I said evenly, and softly.

"How do you assume?"

"Well… He didn't want any kind of recognition, or any big fanfare about it. He wanted to save the island, and it seems to me that's all he wanted to do." I didn't say it, but the guy reminded me of my dad.

Owen put his arm around me, and I looked up at him. "You're alright August. I think you'll fit in well here."

I didn't say anything, but I thought he as right.

When the storm settled down, Owen and I got dressed. It was actually really funny, because we kept cracking jokes at each other the entire time.

"Hey, Owen, put a shirt on!"

"I don't know where my shirt is!"

"That's too bad!"

"August… Did you take my tank-top?"

"Er…I don't have any idea what you're talking about." I started backing away from Owen, hiding the shirt, but not bothering to hide the smirk on my face.

"Get over here!" Owen play-lunged at me, and I squealed and started running away. He tried to grab his shirt away from me, and I just kept jumping out of reach. I jumped up onto one of the roots and scrambled out to where it almost went into the water. He folded his arms and smirked. I yanked my tank top off and threw in at him, and pulled his over my head. And then stuck my tongue out at him.

Owen then lumbered up onto the root, awkwardly trying to balance his way out to me, despite my protests. When he nearly teetered off into the water, I tackled him off the root and onto the ground. I felt his arms wrap around me as he fell to the ground. We landed on the floor and skidded a few feet. When we were stopped, I found myself propped up on top of his chest while he just sort of looked at me.

"Uh… Whoops?"


	4. Sinus headaches

**Author's Note**

So, I think the last chapter was nice. Sweet. Yup.

-

"Never gets old, huh?"

"Nope."

"It kind of makes you wanna…break into song?"

"…yup."

I love the mountains, I love the clear blue skies.

I love big bridges, I love my great white spine.

I love the whole world, and all it's sights and sounds.

BOOM DE YADA BOOM DE YADA BOOM DE YADA BOOM DE YADA!

I love the ocean.

I love real dirty things.

I love to go fast!

I love Egyptian Kings.

I love the whole world, and all it's craziness.

Boom de yada boom de yada BOOM de yada BOOM.

I love tornadoes!

I love arachnids.

I love hot magma!

I love the giant squid.

I love the whole world, it's such a brilliant place.

Boom de yada boom de yada boom de yada BOOM DE YADA,

Boom de yada boom de yada boom de yada boom de yada…

I love the whole world from the Discovery Channel

-

I tugged at the hem of my dress nervously as I waited on my porch. Chase had asked me to go with him to the Flower Festival, and I'd said yes. So there I was, in my little pale blue sundress and sun hat, ready to go, but sitting on my porch.

I stood and walked over to the few tomatoes plants I'd started growing. One of them looked a little dry, so I cupped some water from the pump into my hands and poured it on the base of the little plant.

"Hey, what're you doing?" Chase said as he came walking over, dressed in his normal clothes. Well, minus the apron at least.

As I wiped my wet hands off on my dress, I said, "Making sure my plants don't die of thirst." He just sort of laughed at me, and motioned for me to follow him. I didn't say anything, but he kind of made me a little mad.

"So, what's with the getup? Going to church, are we?" Chase teased as we walked along. I just stuck my nose into the air and started to walk faster than him. He laughed again, and sped up to keep pace with me.

I refused to look at him. I was too proud to. Yet, I keep feeling my eyes drift more and more to the right, until I caught him openly staring at me. So, being ever the lady, I took off my hat, smacked him in the stomach with it, and took off running. I heard an "oof" when I hit him, and then heard him start after me almost immediately.

As I ran, easily staying ahead of him now that my sprain had healed, I thought about well, what I thought about Chase. He routinely agitated and annoyed me, yet at the same time, I found him attractive. It was like by being irritating, he was even more attractive.

I ran all the way into town before he finally caught me. I'd fallen for his gasped surrender, and slowed down, when he tackled me from behind. He didn't knock me to the ground, but instead, wrapped his arms around me from behind and started blowing on the back of my neck.

Being extremely ticklish, I started spazzing out and try to squirm away from him. However, Chase, like most guys my age, was quite a bit taller than I, and had more mass by a fair margin. So I was just sort of squirming in place, since he didn't intend to let me go.

"Hello Chase," Owen said as he came walking by. He glanced at me once, and did a double take. "Hey…there August," he said as if he didn't really believe that I was, for I really was, in Chase's arms. Chase had stopped messing around, and I shrugged out of his embrace. I stepped away from him, popped my hips, and stood akimbo.

"Hey Owen. How're you today?" I smiled as I said it, and put my hat back on in an attempt to keep the wind from blowing it all over the place.

"I'm good. Just going to meet Kathy at the festival," Owen said as he looked from me, to Chase, and back again. He gave me the kind of look that asked what was up, and I just threw him a, I'll tell you later. He shrugged, and waved over his shoulder to Chase as he left. "See you there, August."

I shook my head as he walked away. Honestly, I'd been expecting Owen to ask me to the festival, but Kathy had asked him before I'd even gotten here. That's part of why I'd let Chase bring me. That, and I found Chase to be a rather yummy guy.

Speaking of the devil, Chase came up behind me once again, and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Are we going?" he asked into the hollow of my neck. I took one hand that was inching it's way up, and pushed it firmly into my hand on Chase's side, effectively removing myself from the embrace.

"Yeah."

So we started walking to the festival, and I noticed all the decorations that had been put up. It was so quaint. I listened to Chase talk about his latest culinary achievement as we walked up the stairs to the main square, where I was nearly throttled by the onslaught of scents that hit my sinuses like a baseball bat. I have a really sensitive nose, and all the perfume in the air was going to give me a headache. Oblivious to my discomfort, Chase paraded me around like the arm candy I let him treat me like.

We passed toward the outside of the festival, and I took the opportunity to skip away from Chase. I told him that he should check out some of the culinary stalls, that I was going to look at the sea. He shrugged, and let me go. I almost ran to the old tree on the opposite side of the square, plopped down into the grass, and let out a breath I'd been holding for far too long.

"You don't like flowers?" Owen said as he came around the other side of the tree, scaring the bejeebus out of me. I placed my hand to my breast and shook my head.

"No. Heavy scents give me a headache," I said as I breathed in the salty scent of the sea and the natural smell of the nearby flower.

"Does Chase know that?" Owen said as he settled into the grass next to me.

"I mentioned it, but I don't think he heard me. Where's Kathy?" I said, looking around and realizing she wasn't there.

"Jin came and told me Kathy checked into the clinic this morning. Apparently she wasn't feeling too well." Owen plucked at the grass by his feet.

I sighed, and laid back in the grass. "You know," I said as I ran my hand through the grass, "this is just like high school."

Owen chuckled, and said, "How do you suppose?"

"Well," I said, shutting my eyes and letting the sun play in little patterns on my skin. "There's the flirt. Chase. The nice guy, you, obviously. The vicariously kind and energetic girl Kathy, Candace the little shy girl, Julius, who's the fashionist-o? Think about it, everyone here fit's a high school stereotype."

Owen was quiet. "Then what're you?"

"Hell if I know. I had the epiphany, you get to do the labeling." I laughed at my own joke, and sighed. My head was really pounding. I groaned as the light hit my eyelids and tried to cover my entire face with my hands. I felt kind of nauseous all of a sudden.

"Are you okay, August?" Owen asked the question quietly, but just loud enough so it wouldn't hurt my ears, which was kind of him. My stomach roiled, and I felt the egg soup I'd had for breakfast start doing back flips in my stomach.

"Sinus headache," was the only thing I had time to save before I pitched to the side and heaved my lunch up all over the grass. I really, really hated throwing up, almost as much as sinus headaches, namely because when I had a sinus headache, the nausea didn't go away after I threw up.

"Holy crap, come on August, you need to get to Jin." Owen was already picking me up as I tried to shove him away.

"It's just a sinus headache. It happens, Owen, I'm fine," I protested meekly as I sluggishly tried to wiggle out of Owen's grasp. It wasn't any use though. He had a killer hold on me.

Oddly enough, no one noticed us leave. Owen was obviously freaking out a bit. I guess he hadn't seen anyone empty the content of their stomachs recently, other than me, of course. He all but ran to the clinic. No one but Jin was there, since Irene and Perry had taken the day off.

So Owen ran straight in, and nearly knocked Kathy down.

"Slow down there, big fella!" Kathy said jokingly, fidgeting a bit. She seemed pale, and stressed. "August, what're you doing here?" she asked as if she was asking me where I'd gotten my shoes. Yeah, something was definitely up.

Instead of allowing me to explain, Owen just started shouting for Jin. I tried to climb out of his arms again, but he just kept shifting as I moved to keep me from gaining any leverage.

"What is it Owen?" Jin asked just before he entered the waiting room. He froze, but the rest of us kept moving. Kathy was swaying side to side, trying to find a way around Owen, who was moving rapidly to keep me from scrambling out of his arms.

"What is it today, August?" Jin asked tensely.

"Just- ungh- a sinus- Owen, put me down- a sinus headache," I said, not even pretending to enjoy this new habit of Owen's. Jin motioned to Owen for him to bring me into the examination room, and I grew as pale as Kathy had been. I waved to her as she left, and gulped.

Owen walked behind the curtain, and just stood there. He didn't let me go, which, you know, I would've _really _liked.

"Owen, put her on the bed, if you will."

As Owen set me onto the bed in a rather mechanical manner, I had to ask. "You don't see people throw up often, do you Owen?"

"No," he said, looking a little pale too. Damn, aren't we just a bunch of albinos.

Jin took down my vitals, and ran a quick blood test to make sure none of my internal organs were failing. I checked out a-okay for everything except my temperature, which was two points higher than normal. He verified that I had indeed suffered from a sinus headache, which could occasionally result in nausea and vomiting. Owen looked really relived, which I had to admit, was sweet. Jin asked Owen to make sure I got home safely, and got straight into bed. Jin even gave me a bottle of cold medicine, just to help me get better faster.

As we walked out of the clinic I laughed. "What's so funny?" Owen said a little worriedly.

"Oh, it's just, I was suppose to be on a date with Chase, and it kind of turned into a date with you."

We walked in silence the rest of the way home. Note to self: don't bring up Chase around Owen.

When we got to my house, I opened the door and let the two of us in. I offered to make Owen some dinner for everything he'd done for me, and he said I could make us dinner another time. The way he said it made me a bit suspicious.

-

Which was the completely appropriate response. About half an hour later, Owen woke me up from my nap to surprise me with corn soup, mushroom rice and a pitcher of berry juice. He was beaming from ear to ear, and I couldn't help but be enthusiastic about eating dinner.

As it turned out, Owen was a much better cook than I'd given him credit for. The mushroom rice was just tangy enough, and the soup was creamy and delicious. Of course, I love berry juice, so it made the cold medicine that easier to swallow.

We ended up chatting for awhile, and eventually moving onto my bed because it was more comfortable. I drew back the curtains on the front window so we could watch the sunset. When the cold medicine started kicking in, I became incoherent and irresponsibly irrational.

"Owen?"

"Yeah?"

"It's gonna get dark…"

"Yes, that's what happens after the sun sets."

"I don't like the dark…"

"I know. I'll stay, okay?"

"Mhmm…"

"Get some sleep. I won't go."

-

It turned out Owen was a man of his word. I woke up in the morning covered by my fleece blanket, accompanied with a splitting headache. Damn cold medicine…

"Morning sleepyhead," Owen said from the kitchen, over the sizzling noise. Drowsily, I sniffed at the air, identifying the scent of eggs and tomatoes in the air.

Without unwrapping myself, I pushed myself out of bed and shuffled to the back of the kitchen counter so I could look at the frying omelet. There were diced tomatoes beside the skillet that looked like they'd been fried already. I looked up at him rather drearily.

"You tried to fry the tomato, didn't you?"

Owen laughed sheepishly, and nodded. He flipped the omelet and it nearly fell of the pan. I chuckled, and dropped my blanket on the back of a chair. Having regained a bit more consciousness, I stumbled to the stove, and sort of took over. I used the spatula to split the omelet open, and scooped the tomatoes into it. I handed the spatula back to Owen, and shuffled back to the table.

"So," I said as I settled into a chair, "you stayed here last night?"

"Well, until you fell asleep. I left around midnight, got a change of clothes, slept for a bit, and then came back. I got back here at six, but you slept for another couple of hours." Owen spoke levelly as he tried to concentrate on flipping the omelet without losing it.

"Where did you sleep when you got back?"

"I didn't," he said, just as his jaw started to tighten and went down a bit. I recognized that as the incognito yawn.

I laughed, and went to my dresser, and started to pull out clothes for the day. I settled on, that's right, you guessed it, a button up short-sleeved shirt, shorts, and my favorite woven leather belt. Today, instead of a blue shirt, I'd pulled out a bright red plaid patterned one, and after thinking about how I would wear it, I grabbed a black tank top from my wardrobe, and compared it to my previously choices. Unfortunately, the red clashed with the shorts I'd picked, so I had to dive back into my bottoms drawer to find something comfortable. I settled on a skirt, and discreetly slipped a pair of trusty spankies into the mix. Don't knock those things, they may sound funny, but if you have to wear a skirt and don't want to look like a hoe, spankies are the best way to go about it without being obvious.

I looked over my shoulder to peek at Owen. It was a little funny, 'cause as soon as I looked at him, I saw his spiky mess of red hair move. I giggled, and turned a little more, letting my cute little blonde semi-bob fall all messy like around my head, like a little halo.

"You know the drill."

Owen chuckled, and shook his head while he kept cooking. Though I trusted him, I was glad I'd been smart enough to bring a few decorative furniture pieces with me. In this instance, it was my dividing screen I was thankful for. It wasn't very large, smaller than my bookcase, but it would do the trick.

My large wad of clothing in hand, I ducked behind the screen, and started pulling off my clothes. When I got down to my under things, I looked out from behind my hiding place, to make sure Owen wasn't looking.

He was. Just staring at me, with this really odd expression on his face.

And then he started laughing. Like, roaring with laughter.

With a bit of a huff, I moved back behind the screen and changed into a pair of bright pink panties with lavender polka dots and lace, and a bra in a similar color scheme. Patting my hair down a bit, I peeked outside once more, and frowned at Owen. "What?" I said, drawing it out.

Owen just shook his head, and flipped the omelets onto plates before getting a bottle of the berry juice I'd made, along with some of the coconut juice he'd brought with him. I smiled, and moved back behind the screen. I slipped the black tank-top on, and pulled on the spankies too. I got the skirt on and tied the belt where it should be, since there were no loops on it. I stepped away from the screen as I pulled the button up on, and only did half the buttons so it looked relaxed. Tank-top, remember? No whorish clothing for me, thanks.

"Do you use ketchup?" Owen asked as I walked to the table.

"Doesn't matter; I don't have any," I said as I sat down and started tearing into the omelet Owen had put on my side of the table.

We bantered back and forth as we ate, just having fun and chatting. Owen told me a bit more about the people on the island, and I told him about Meg and where I'd come from.

"Don't you have work today?" I asked while we were cleaning dishes. Owen shook his head.

"No, Ramsey's got a lot more help than he used to, so we get to take days off every once in awhile. I was wondering if you might want to do something today, to be honest," Owen said as he scrubbed a particularly stubborn bit of fried tomato of my skillet.

"Sounds fun," I said while I dried the plates we'd used. "But I have to do my farm work first, remember?"

"No problem, it'll go faster if I help you." Owen said that confidently, as if it would be no hard task. I laughed, shaking my head. This would be fun.

Owen grunted as he pulled another weed from the plant bed, and I had to laugh. I checked to potato plants' leaves for any bite marks or discoloration, and moved to the next. Originally Owen was going to water the plants, but he insisted on weeding, since it required more stamina, and "let's face it, I'm obviously stronger". I rolled my eyes, and moved to the next plant. Owen had gotten himself in a little too deep.

I heard one more "oof", and then a loud thud. I stood and brushed the dirt off my hand.

"Need some help there, strong man?" I asked, smirking at him as I held my hand out to him.

It seemed Owen had fallen down the slight incline from the field to the road when he'd pulled a weed from the ground. The little clump of green was sticking out of his scarf, which, to be perfectly honest, made me giggle.

Owen smiled bashfully as took my hand, and pulled. Which, unless you're the same size as Owen or are extremely strong, can be a bit of a problem.

So, Owen effectively pulled me off of my feet and onto the ground. Or rather, on top of him… and he was on the ground, so okay, on the ground too. Thankfully, I was already used to this sort of thing around Owen, so it wasn't nearly as odd as it had been in the very beginning.

"Fancy seeing you here," Owen muttered as he sat up, maneuvering me around him. Keeping his hands on my shoulders, he pulled both of us to our feet rather easily.

"Are you done yet?"

"I think so."

"Well then, what do you want to do now?" I asked, pulling my hat off and wiping my brow. Owen rubbed his chin in a comically quizzical way, and then turned to look squarely at me.

"Let's go to the mine."

I just looked at him for a moment, shocked. "The mine?" I asked incredulously. I hadn't thought for a moment that he would suggest that, and I wasn't too confident in my mining ability.

Owen shrugged, and smiled. "Well, yeah. I've seen how you work, and I figured it might be fun to show you how I work. The mines can be a really fun place when you go with a friend," he said brightly, before adding, "and it doesn't hurt when you're well prepared." Owen took my hand in his, and pulled me back towards the house. I smiled, and stumbled after him.

The two of us made some food that we'd be able to take down into the mine without mess. "You know," I said idly as I chopped up cucumbers, tomatoes and boiled egg to make egg and vegetable sandwiches, "we can't _always eat at my house. I don't really have a big source of income yet…"_

_Owen laughed as he packed the rice he brought into little triangles. "Sure. I'll just take you by Ramsey's place and we can make all the rice balls you want. That is, if you life a four-piece audience."_

_I blushed and snatched the loaf of bread from the other side of the counter. I pulled out a couple slices and stared at the bread so I wouldn't have to look at Owen as I started shoving pieces of lettuce onto the loaves. My face felt red hot, which was so strange. Since when did Owen make me blush?_

"_Hey, shortie, I'm talking to you." Owen shoved my a little bit with his body, and I gasped, starting a bit. The knife slipped out of my hand and clattered to the floor._

_Owen arm slipped his way around my waist, and his face was suddenly in my hair. I froze, not knowing how to react. I tried to breath evenly, but even that sort of tension was obvious in my body. I was small, and you can only spread emotion into so much space. I mean, if you had the same amount of emotion in someone Owen's size, you can spread it around and make it thin. You don't have to concentrate it in any one spot. When you're as small as I am, you don't have that much room to spread it around. Emotion is apparent with me, no matter where I try to put it. It always has been._

"_You're not careful enough, shortie. You could really hurt yourself," Owen muttered quietly, reaching around me and taking my hand, the one that had held the knife. He checked the top of my hand, and then flipped it to check the palm. For once, there was nothing wrong with me. Owen released me so smoothly that I didn't know he had until he bent back up, holding the knife. "Let's finish up. The mines aren't that safe after dark."_

"_But aren't they always dark?"_

"… _That's a damn good point."_


	5. Mine equals NO

**Author's Note**

Hey, it's me. I know, it's been a really long time. I'm laughing at myself right now, 'cause I was pretty sure that I was never gonna finish Clouds...

Anyway, I hope you like it. It's my fun story... I've got my serious story, my fun story, and my tripping out on caffiene story. I think everyone should have one of those.

Review, pleeeease?

* * *

I was riding shotgun with my hair undone in the front seat of his car,

He's got a one-hand feel on the steering wheel, the other on my heart.

I look around, turn the radio down, he's says baby is somethin' wrong?

I say nothin', I was just thinkin' how we don't have a song.

And he says, our song is the slam of screen doors,

Sneakin' out late night, tappin' on your window,

While we're on the phone and you talk real slow, cause it's late and your mama don't know.

Our song is the way you laugh, the way the first date I didn't kiss her and I should have.

And when I got home, before I said amen, askin' God if he, could play it again.

Our Song by Taylor Swift

* * *

The sun filtered through the leaves in the trees around the mine, and I drank it in like a heady drink. I'd say perfume, but as we all know, thick scents give me sinus headaches. So instead, I let my skin soak in the sun, as if I could store the glow inside my body and use it as a lantern inside the mine. Someone's rough-skinned hand slipped into mine, and started pulling me towards the dark gaping hole that led to the entrance of the mine.

I used the hammer in my hand to anchor myself. Owen stopped, and looked back at me quizzically. I shook my head, staring at the gaping maw of the mine, leering and gnashing its teeth at me. Owen smiled as comfortingly as he could at me.

"It's just a mine. Nothing bad will happen with me there. I even took all the obsessively minute precautions that all the guides say you should do. Just the other day we reinforced the beams, Ramsey and Irene know we're going down, we have extra food, flares and blankets, " Owen said firmly, crossing back to me and planting his hands firmly on my shoulders in a fairly comforting kind of way. "There's absolutely nothing that can go wrong that we can't handle." He smiled, and squeezed.

I had to smile back, if a little uncertainly. I picked up the hammer and shifted the pack on my back into a slightly more comfortable position. The mine looked very, very dark, but since people went in there all the time (so I'd heard) I had to assume that it was at least somewhat safe.

"Do we have a flashlight?" I asked nervously as Owen started walking to the cave, and I ran to his side. Without hesitating, my hands found there way to his tank top and clung there. I couldn't help it but I was entirely on edge. Thankfully, Owen understood, and placed an arm around my waist, somehow maneuvering around the pack that was much, much smaller than his.

Owen laughed a bit as we came up to beamed archway of the mine, and handed me a cold cylinder. "It's one of those non-battery operated ones too." He said as he dropped his arm to mess with something on the wall.

I put both of my hands on the flashlight and started shaking it up and down as furiously as I could, and actually let my head get into it so that I must have looked like an idiot. After a moment or two I stopped and hit the power switch. It turned on, and I swept the beam across the room, relieved when I saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Hi!"

I squealed and fell onto the floor scrambling back towards a wall. "Owen! Owen, help!" I shrieked, not knowing what was in front of me because the flashlight had rolled away.

"August, geez, calm down, it's just Chloe. She's my cousin," Owen said calmly as he picked up the flashlight.

The little girl in front of me laughed, and held her hand out to help me up. I took it, and stood. She was pretty adorable, with strawberry blonde hair and cute, yet obviously durable clothing. Before I had a chance to talk to her, Owen pulled me towards the stairs and we descended into the first level of the mine.

To be honest, it wasn't that bad. It wasn't too dark, and even though there were rocks everywhere, they broke easily. Owen showed me how to swing the hammer and hit the rocks just right. I looked around and saw lots of mushrooms and toadstools. I picked up a few of the mushrooms and put them in the pack, making a point to read up on recipes that involved mushrooms.

Owen smashed one rock and red gas started billowing out violently, hissing and seething. Owen dove out of the way, and I started backing up, a bit frightened.

"Move August!"

I dove out of the way, feeling the whispery coolness of the gas rush by my ankle. Covering my face and head in my arms, I sat there, waiting for it to pass. When it had, Owen came over and helped me up.

"Blinding gas. You don't want that anywhere near your face. It'll obscure your eyesight. Thankfully, something about the change in pressures as you go down alleviates the symptoms. I don't fully understand it, you'd have to ask Dr. Jin about the specifics." Owen pulled out a handkerchief and bent down. He wiped down my ankle, removing the red residue left behind by the gas. "Don't touch your eyes."

Owen went back to looking for ore, and I wandered around. Unfortunately, I hadn't been looking where I was going, and suddenly the floor crackled and crumbled underneath me. Instead of screaming like I normally would, I kept my mouth shut, and landed rather… evenly on the ground below it. I looked around, and saw I was on a completely different floor.

"Uh… Owen?" I called up to the next highest floor.

"Yeah? Hey, where are you?" I could barely make out his silhouette from the hole above me.

"I'm alright, I just fell through. Can you get down here?"

"Yeah, just move. I'll jump down."

A moment later Owen landed on the ground beside me. And that's sort of how it went for a long time. Owen went for ore and I just sort of explored. I found a few moles and strangely enough after smacking them when they'd tried to crawl up my leg, I'd found a bit of medicine. Just the same. At least, until the twentieth floor or so.

We came down the stairs to a strange glow. I looked around, and found the cavern full of crystals similar to those I found in the cave under the Goddess Spring.

This time though, they were every color I could think of. I raced off, away from Owen, and started to inspect the nearest crystal, a dark reddish yellow color. It was lovely, and the glow from inside of it was captivating.

"If you're careful, you can extract some of that crystal. Don't take it all though; if you leave a bit it can re-grow," Owen said as he started hammering away for ore.

I did as he advised and started tapping away at the crystal, looking for possible veins and chips I could follow and watch for. It took a bit of work, but when I pulled away two lovely glittering samples of the crystal, I was proud of myself. I moved to the next crystal, a bright greenish blue crystal, and started working again.

We went like that for awhile, and I had to admit I'd fallen in love with the mine. It was so much fun to gather mushrooms and look for crystals. The gases, pitfalls, steam geysers and creepy crawlies made it an adventure.

As we carried out haul back to the surface, we stopped in the room with the mural. Owen checked his watch and realized, with how late it was, it would probably be best to stay there, even though we were so close to the surface.

"At this time of night, we're actually safer down here," Owen said as he set out the mattress and started dropping sleeping materials around our "site".

I nodded as I unpacked the food, and set it out to eat. Owen had set up a space heater to use until we went to sleep, so there was a little globe of heat about four feet around the kerosene power contraption.

We ended up huddled together on the mat, eating sandwiches and trying to keep warm. It was cozy, if you think consider scary, pitch-dark caves at midnight eating an egg sandwich while freezing your butt off is cozy.

Despite all my complaining, I was actually pretty comfortable. Owen was good company, and I trusted him not to do anything inappropriate. Owen was writing in a pocketbook, cataloging the condition of the mine and any new types of ore, crystal, gem or animal that had appeared. I was looking through our finds, dusting off the little samples and holding them up to the light, marveling in how the light seemed to get trapped in the little bits and pieces of the wonderfuls. At the moment, I was looking at a very nice blue wonderful, almost aqua in color.

"I'd be willing to be a week's salary that that's aquamarine right there. You don't see that often down here, but in the lower levels of the Gelato mine, they're just kinda hard to find." Owen said as he wrote down a few numbers that I didn't know the meaning off.

"Okay. Well, that means I'll get to have a bit of jewelry around here," I mumbled to myself, also considering selling the little rock. I immediately ruled that out, as I rather liked the little sample. I started looking at the other samples, and trying to figure out what they were from my own experience at jewelry stores in my youth. The yellowish red looked like it could probably be amber, the green looked oddly like jade, and the mysterious white sample neither Owen nor I could identify. It was brilliant white, but there were so many veins and irregularities that it could have been anything.

We packed everything into our packs, and sat under the blanket, a little bit of space between the two of us. I was little cold, not gonna lie. Owen had turned the space heater off to save the energy, in case we got stuck down here for longer than we planned. I was a bit skeptical, but he was the expert, so I kept my opinions to myself.

After awhile, I started shivering. I moved a little further away from Owen so he wouldn't feel bad, but he moved the blanket and his hand brushed against my shoulder.

He didn't say anything, but instead, wrapped his arm around my shoulder, and pulled my close to him so we were nearly chest to chest. Not quite, but we were angled towards each other. It was strange. I was used to being this close to him at that point, but he was just so much larger than me. I reached up and grabbed the fabric of his tank top, and laid my head on his chest, almost snuggling into a comfortable sleeping position. After a moment I felt him put his head on my shoulder, at the bend of my neck.

I fell asleep quickly, and slept soundly through the night. My dreams were half-formed, spiraling around like the misty gases of the mind, in bright colors. Tomatoes on the vine, a big homey barn, bleating goats, brightly dressed Harvest Sprites, the Harvest Goddess and Harvest King…

When I woke up, I was rather warm, but no longer sitting upright. Somehow I'd fallen over in the middle of the night. I started to move, and found that I was warm for a rather familiar reason.

I hadn't just tipped over. Owen and I had fallen over, and settled into a horizontal sleeping position… Complete with my foot hooked around his ankle, his arms around me, and my arms around his waist. He was still asleep, breathing evenly and softly. I shifted into a slightly more comfortable position, and laid my head on Owen's bicep, and tried to fall back asleep.

It didn't really work though, and I just ended up sitting awake, waiting for Owen to wake up. To be perfectly honest, it was really, really boring. I was far too used to being close to Owen in this platonic manner. I sighed, and shifted anxiously. I didn't want to wake Owen, but I was awake, and didn't want to stay still anymore. Neither of us had a watch on, so I couldn't check the time all sneaky-like.

After awhile I started to fidget, uneasy with staying stationary. I tried to occupy myself with daydreams, but that only worked when I had something else I needed to be doing, and didn't want to do it.

Eventually, I started to wriggle about. Owen was still out like a light, even with all my movement. After deciding I'd had enough, I tried to squirm out of his bear-hug. Easier said than done. Owen kept shifting his grip, so whenever I gained a bit of leverage, he just moved and it was gone. Not long after I ended up smooshed against his chest uncomfortably did I start punching and kicking him, literally pushing him off of me.

Owen started to laugh, and I realized that he'd been awake for quite some time. With what I imagined to be a threatening growl of an exhalation (try saying that three times fast), I launched back over the mat and tackled him full on in the chest. The audible whoosh of his grunt made me smirk in the darkness, but my victory was short lived. Owen went straight for my waist, and I felt his hands searching for the belt I'd cinched around my waist. Standing up, I skipped out of his reach, and laughed into the dimness of the cavern. I noticed that it wasn't entirely dark, and looked up. All over the ceiling were thousands miniscule crystals, lending a soft, neutral glow to the cave. Very dim, but enough to see by, for sure.

Owen large form scrambled upright, and I saw it start to sidle slowly in my directions, hands outstretched to catch me if I tried to run around him in either direction. I assumed a similar stance, and without hiding my smile or the seemingly unending stream of giggles that came out of my mouth, advanced towards him.

Once he got in range, I skipped a bit to the right and a little closer, and let myself get close enough for him to grab me. Owen took the bait, and I dug my heels into the ground and bounced back in the opposite direction. I moved quickly, and used Owen's large form against him. As I ran around to where I got a good shot at his back, I felt a sudden thrill of gratitude that I'd chosen to wear spankies for our little excursion. Then, with another dig-in and change of direction, I jumped onto Owen's back.

Unfortunately, he'd been expecting that, and his hands came up over his shoulders and grabbed my underneath the armpits, and he heaved, trying to pull me either of his head or over one of his shoulders. Thinking quickly, I looped my legs around his chest, and placed my hands over his eyes, lacing my fingers together and giggling.

Owen started laughing loudly, and pulled one hand away to try and pull my hands away from his face. Of course, they came away almost ridiculously easy. Without a handhold, my balance went off, and with one quick pull, Owen pulled me up and onto his shoulder, where I was stuck. He still had my hands in one of his, making a sort of handcuff, while my legs didn't have anything to get a purchase on.

Owen dumped me unceremoniously onto the mat, and before I had a chance to scramble up, he trapped my hands above my head, kneeled above me. I was still giggling, and Owen was still smirking, in a sort of mischievous way. I wasn't sure what that meant, but I started wiggling around again. I stopped when I realized Owen had leaned his face in towards mine, and was looking me dead in the eyes.

My heart stopped for only a moment, and then started racing like two kids running barefoot through the woods on a lazy summer afternoon. Owen just looked at me, his face only inches away, that little smirk of his still in place.

"Y'know, I was thinking of trying something…" he said idly, and I could barely see his face outlined from the glow of the dim lighting. My heart was beating loudly, like a little bird. I squirmed one more time, but didn't move after that. Owen brought his face even closer to mine, to where his hair just barely brushed my forehead, and our noses were nearly touching. I tried to relax, and I wasn't even thinking about what was going on. My heart was thudding to loudly, pumping the blood through my body too quickly for me to think about anything else.

Owen smirked, and chuckled once before closing the gap.

To blow a great big raspberry on my forehead, before breaking out in another fit of roaring laughter. My breath caught and I sort of gulp-gasped, if that makes any sense. Owen rocked back onto his heels, removing himself from the immediate vicinity of my face. I frowned at him, my eye brows knitting together in what I had to assume was a bit of a miffed expression. Owen was still going strong, and I could have sworn I saw a tear roll down his cheek.

"Shut up!" I said, folding my arms as I sat up. But that just made him laugh more.

If I'd had to say it, that battle went to him, but the war was far, far from being over.

Later that night, after I'd gone home and changed into clean clothes, I took my accumulated laundry, and with it balanced in a basket on my hip, I started to make my way to the basin of the waterfall, organically made soap in hand as well. I let myself get lost in the lazy, thick light of the afternoon, swaying back and forth as I went, the long skirted dress I wore brushing my bare ankles. It was tan, soft and simple, with sleeveless straps holing it up, with a modest neckline.

It didn't take long to reach the falls, even with my relaxed pace. When I got there, I made sure no one was around, and pulled the clothesline wire I'd brought with me out, and tying it between two trees. I then pulled one of my shirts from the basket, and started scrubbing it against the washboard Meg had lent me. I worked quickly, and once I reached the bottom of the basket, I pulled out the accounting pad I'd invested in before coming to the island.

So far, I'd made a total profit of about… I tallied the numbers once more, just to be sure, and they came out to six thousand, five hundred and eighty-five gold pieces. If what I'd heard was right, a chicken coop from the carpenter, Dale, was only two thousand and four hundred gold. If I bought a chicken too, I'd be able to get a little extra daily revenue, which would definitely help. I did a few calculations, and assuming I would only get decent eggs for the first twenty days… The chicken would pay for itself in…nearly a month. I thought about that, and how far that could set me back financially. Then with a start, I realized that I could just buy an egg, hatch it, and pay a little extra for feed while the chick grew, and most likely save time in the long run. I ran the calculations out for that possibility, but stopped halfway through, remembering that, oddly enough, Brownie Ranch didn't sell chicken eggs.

I sighed, and shut my accounting book. I'd have to work extra hard to afford the feed that would be required to keep the chicken fat and happy, along with the obvious additions to the coop that would soon follow the first. Setting the leather bound file aside, I folded my arms behind my head, and let the sun fall on my face. It felt very nice, and the clean air was something I wasn't so used to in the city.

Sincerely hoping no one would come along to bother my little bubble of solitude, I leaned up to hug my knees to my chest. Things had changed so much since I'd left home, already. I hadn't even been gone half a month yet. Sighing again, I realized that at that rate, I'd grow old long before my time. That made me laugh a bit, and my mood lightened.

Humming a song that I'd heard playing from a radio station at sea (thank god for them, or else I'd have lost touch with society completely), I lifted the hem of my skirt and stepped in to cool pool of water, and swayed back and forth. I pointed my toe, and swung it around my body, moving it from the front to the back, and bending it once there. I missed my dance classes from back home.

I stood there for awhile, my dress suspended daintily over the water, stirred constantly by the wind and the waterfall. Shaking my head, I stepped out of the water, shaking my feet a little as I stepped out. I checked my clothing, and seeing as it was now dry enough to take off the line, I yanked it off quickly, recognizing the dying light of day winding it's way back toward the sun from farther east in the world.

I hurried back, holding my basket tightly as I hopped over the little irregularities of the path. As I came around the path back into the caramel river district, I caught a sight of the sunset.

It was glorious, red and golden, with stripes of pink along the clouds. Bands of indigo and blue were already forming over the far end of the island, creeping like long-limbed shadows. With a sigh, I carried my things inside, and put them away.

After getting ready for the night, I placed my accounting book on my bedside table. As I fell asleep, I just stared at it, not following where my mind went.

Not long after that, I fell asleep, and dreamt of fireflies, sunsets and frilly pink panties.


End file.
